McSorley, a participant in the day program for senior citizens with developmental disabilities at the Goodwill Columbus just north of Grandview Heights, teamed with Violet at the center on a recent Tuesday morning. The youngster joined her mother, Stephanie Vulhop, and about 40 other parents and children who volunteer through Seeds of Caring.

The 10-month-old program — formed during the summer by Brandy Jemczura, a stay-at-home mother of two young children — seeks to help parents “plant the seeds” of volunteering in their children.

“There are a lot of us for whom volunteering used to be a regular part of our lives but who find it very difficult to find opportunities that fit with their kids,” said Jemczura, 34, who lives in the Clintonville neighborhood with her husband, Thomas, and their children — Eliot, 5, and Lucy, 3.

“We hope that what we do is help develop compassion and kindness — that’s our goal. Kids this young (the targeted ages are 2 to 12) may not grasp everything we’re talking about, but we want to plant seeds with them.”

Jemczura, who has a master’s degree in social work from Ohio State University, initially expected to offer one event a month. Through word of mouth and Facebook postings, however, Seeds of Caring has quickly added participants, prompting her to organize four to six events a month in recent months.

As of last Tuesday, she said, the group had organ-ized 33 events and logged more than 1,300 service hours.

“It really shows that Columbus needs this,” said Jemczura, who is working to register Seeds of Caring as a nonprofit entity.

The group’s events fall into two general categories: service projects (such as conducting a food drive for an area pantry or delivering for Meals on Wheels) and fellowship-style outreach (such as the Goodwill center visit).

Parents who have joined in the outreach events see how participation benefits their children.

“It has been sort of an eye-opening experience for them,” Westerville resident Jen Catherine said of the effect on her two children, Janie, 8, and Juliana, 6 — who, along with Catherine’s husband, Jay, have participated in four events. “They are able to learn more about other people and see there is more in the world beyond what happens in their family.

“We try to instill that at home with books and talking, but to actually be right here, meeting these people, has been rewarding on so many levels.”

At the Goodwill event, Calem led a singalong session for about 30 minutes befor the group moved to various tables for snacking and sharing.

Jemczura had instructed the families to sit near a Goodwill participant. On the tables were lists of conversation-starter questions, directing the adults and children to ask each other about favorite foods or favorite vacation spots.